Variable speed drive for drafting machinery



Feb. 22, 1938. J. R, CLAY 2,109,247

VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE FOR DRAWING MACHINERY Filed June 18, 1937. 5 Sheets-Sheet l mfg 1 e Zi-,57:1 gjm/55E. CLAY GMM Feb. 22, 1938. J, R CLAY 2,109,247

VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE FOR DRAFTING MACHINERY Filed June 18, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i9 @@9 J/3 l? /7 /nvaNTo/.' JAMES R. CLA? Fvg-'Z EY @MME www Feb. 22, 1938. jl R, CLAY 2,109,247

VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE FOR DRAFTING MACHINERY Filed June 18, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 i lllllh nl W/.iim

6677 V/ Y M Gum/Mw Eg. 6 M

Patented Feb. 2 2,

l .UNITED STATES VARIABLE SPEED DRIVE vFOR. DBAFTING l MACHINE James n. clay, Granite nur, N. c., miglior of one-hal! to Perry L. Moore, Granite Falls, N. C.

Application June 18,

1 Claim.

This invention relates to a variable speed drive for drafting machinery such as spinning frames, cotton twister frames, roving frames, and the like, and more especially to a drive whichv is capable of gradually increasing or decreasing the speed-of the machine as the strands are built up on the bobbins.

It is a well known fact that when yarnv is being wound around bobbins on spinning frames, the ring rail reciprocates about one-fourth the length ofl the bobbin at the beginiing, and as the yarn is being built on the bobbin to form the appearance of an inverted cone at the lower end thereof, the ring rail gradually'rises relative to the bobbin until the dofilng point "is reached. In other words, the last reciprocation' of the ring rail traverses the upper' fourth of the bobbin. At this point the length of the strand of yarn which is disposed between the traveler and the eyelet on the guide rail is considerably shorter than when the bobbin is rst started.

The length of the strand between this eyelet and the traveler on the ring rail is subject to `a great deal of wind resistance as it is being wound around the bobbin. The greater the length of this portion ofthe yarn, the-greater will be the balloonage and windage It is therefore, necessary that the speed of the spinning frame be much `slower at the beginning of the bobbin than when the-doiiing point is reached because there is greater resistance at the beginning than there is as the package is being completed. There are other factors which necessitate a slow beginning and a gradually increasing speed on a spinning frame. For example, the size of the quill or `bobbin on which the yarn is wound must necessarily be small in order to get the maximum amount of yarn thereon. Due to this small size of the quill the angularity of the yarn between the bobbin and the traveler is greater than when .the yarn has been built on the quill up to a larger diameter. This angularity creates an additional friction consequently, if the packages of yarn are started at a maximum speed many of the ends will be broken down resulting in ineiilcient operation of the machine.

It is therefore, an object of this invention to provide a variable speed drive for spinning frames, comprising means for gradually increasingthe speed of the machine as the yarn is be- -mg wound on uebobbins until the bobbins are ready to be doifed, at which time the maximum speed is attained.v AMeans have also been provided whereby the' speed can be manually ad- Justed to any desired point should it be desired 4les?, ser-m No. 148,982

(ci. `11s-a2) to re-set the speed at any time due to atmospheric conditions within the mill or for other reasons.

Wh'en the variable speed drive is used upon a-v twister frame it is necessary that the machine start with a maximum speed and gradually decrease in speed until the minimum is reached at the domng point. This result is obtained in one form of this invention by merely setting the variable speed drive at maximum speed and then reversing the ratcheting mechanism.` When this is done, thespeed of the machine will gradually decrease as the package increases in size, instead of increasing the speed, as in the case of spinning frames. v

Some of the objects of the invention having y been stated, other objects will appear as the description proceeds, when taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, in which:-

Figure lis an elevation of one end of a spinning frame-with portions thereof shown in section, showing my invention applied thereto;

Figure 2 is a top plan view taken alongv line 2--2 in Figure l; Figure 3 is a sectionaLplan view taken along line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a vertical, sectional view taken along line 44---4 in Figure l;

Figure 5 is an enlarged, sectional, detail elevation taken along line 5-5 in Figurev l; Figure 6 is a vertical, sectional, detail view taken along 4line 6 8 in Figures 2 and 3, the belt being omitted;

Figure 'I is a sectional, detail view taken along line 1--1 in Figure 1;

Figure 8 is an elevation of a slightly modied form similar to the lower portion of Figure 5, but showing the ratcheting mechanism reversed so as to be adaptable for use on twister frames;

Figure 9 is a sectional, plan view taken along line '9--9 in Figure 8.

Referring more specifically to the drawings, the numeral I0 denotes the'end support of a suitable spinning frame which has connected thereto suitable bottom rails II', bolster rails I2, spinnings rails vi3 and thread guide rails I4. Each bolster rail I2 has secured therein suitable bolsters I5 in which rotate spindles I6 and each of said spindles has a bobbin I1 removably mounted thereon. A strand of yarn Il ls drawn downwardly from the drafting rolls, not shown,-

through an eyelet Ila and then to the traveler `ISI. from whence it is deposited upon the bobbin I1. Since the speed of the bobbin must be relatively slow when the yarn is first started because its free end normally engaging the teeth in ment to be made.

of the windage and the angularity, itis necessary turned when the conditions require such move- A gradually to provide meansfor increasing the speed of the spinning frame as the yarn upon thebobbinbuildsupandastheringrail il movesupwar'diyrelativetothebobbin. Thisvariable speed mechanism is controlled by vertically disposedpiungerrodllwhichhasitsupperend secured in ring rail il and its intermediate portions slidably mounted-in bottom rail Ii and bolsterrail i2. Thelowerendofrod 2| ispivot ally secured to lever 2i which, in turn. is, iixedlyI secured aroundring rail cross shaft 22. 'I'his cross shaft is mounted for oscillation in suitable brackets such as 22 which, in turn, are secured to the' bottom rails ii. Y Also, iixedly secured around the cross shaft 22 is a vertically disposed lever 24 which has pivoted to its upper free end a horizontally disposed link, 2l. yI'he right-hand end of link 2l is adlustably secured to the end of ratchet lever 2i. by means of a bolt 21 which penetrates a slot 28a in the ratchet lever 20 and ratchet wheel 2l. In order to hold the free end of dog 22 in engagement with the ratchet wheel 2l a torsion spring 24 is employed which has' one end thereof engaging vthis dog and its other end engaging the arm 2Gb. It is observed by referring to Figures l, 3 4and 5, that as the ring rail i3 reciprocates up and down. a reciprocatory motion will be imparted to the link 25 to cause the lever 2l to rotate the rod 29 through the pawi 22 and the-ratchet wheel 2l. In other words, the rod 29 will be rotated in a counter-clockwise manner in Figure 3 due to the reciprocatory movement of the ring rail i2.

'Ihe rod 2l is rotatably mounted-.in bearings 40 and Il which in turn, are secured to the end frame il. 0n the upper end of the rod 2l a worm 42 is nxedly secured which engages worm gear I3, said pinion vbeing threadably secured upon threaded portion u of a shaft 45.

By referring to Figures l, 5 and '1, it will be noted that the bearing Il' has an upwardly extending portion Cia which encircles the threaded portion M and has the left-hand face thereof normally. engaging the right-hand hub of the worm gear 42. This portion normally holds the worm gear l2 in a fixed position so that it will not be allowed to move longitudinally ofthe shaft 45 but may have rotative movement only on the threaded portion M. The shaft 45 has adjustably secured thereon collar 5I by means ofset screw 52. This collar may be positioned so as to act as a stop when the operator winds the wheel 49 back to the starting point. At this time, the collar will engage the bearing Il. Since the threaded portion is slidably mounted in bearing a of the end frame i0, the rotative movement of the gear l! will move the shaft 4B and its associated parts about its longitudinal axis, one way or the other, dependent upon the direction of rotation of the shaft 2l. 'I'he shaft II has its right-hand end rotatably mounted in an upwardly extending bracket Il which issecured to a U-shaped support 41, said support 41 being fastenedto the end frame lli by means of bolts Il. A hand wheel ll is secured on the extreme right hand end of shaft Il so that the shaft 4l may be manually 'Ihe intermediate portion of shaft Il penetrates a lug lla vwhich extends -outwardly from vertically disposed lever ll. Suitable collars Il and I1 are iixedly secured on shaft Il and onopposed sides of'thls lug.' 'Ihe lever Il is pivoted as at Il to pin Il which pin is slidably mounted in a bearing I2 in end frame Il. I'he intermediate portion of the pin Il is encircled by a compression spring Il, one end of said spring pressing against the end frame I I' and the other end pressing against a nut M which is threadably secured on the intermediate portion 'of' the pin Il. 'Ihis spring will normally tend to force the pin Il and lever Il to the right in Figures 1 ando to cause the proper tension to be exerted upon the beit.

which will be later described.y

If it is desired to increase or decrease the tension upon the belt it is only necessary to manipulate the nut M and thereby place the proper compression-upon the spring I2.

'I'he lower end of lever Bl has a forked portion Il which rests astride a hub Il. Suitable rollers I1l are disposed on opposed sides of the hub if and are engaged by the lower prongs of forked member L Since the hub Il is rotataby mounted around a hub Il of a movable conical disk t2 it is necessary to prevent any longitudinalv relative movement between these two members in order that the movement of the lower end of lever ll will move a disk II longitudinally of a cylinder shaft 10. Therefore, a suitable collar 1l has been placed around the hub 02 and adjacent the left-hand end of hub Il, and a thrust bearing 12 has been disposed between the right-hand portion of hub and the disk il As the disk il is screw 1I. These two disks l0 and 1l form a split V-pulley.

It will be noted by referring to Figures l, 3 and 6 that the intermediate portionof shaft 10 is rotatably mounted in a bearing 11 of end frame l0, whereas, the right-hand end of this shaft is rotatably mounted in a suitable thrust bearing 1l which is mounted on the top of U- shaped support l1.

thrust which may be produced due to the pressure of spring 8l upon the belt 1I which is mounted between the disks I and 15.

The upper end of lever I5 has another forked portion lli which is similar to forked portion Il on the lower end thereof. The ends of this forked portion normally engage suitable rollers 2i which are secured on opposed sides of a hub member 82. This hub member is rotatably mounted upon a hub I3 of movable conical disk l8l which is slidably keyed on a shaft 0l by means of key ways Relative longitudinalmovement between the hub 83 ofvdisk Il, and the hub I2 is prevented by means of collar l1 which is secured around thef left-hand end of hub Il. A thrust bearing I8 is disposed between the right-hand end of the hub I2 and the disk 84. 'I'he disk lM cooperates with a nxed conical disk I9 which is secured on the shaft Il by any suitable means such as set screw 90. 'I'he disks M and 89 'also form a split V-pulley./ 'lhe belt 1l is also mounted between the disks I4 and l0 and it is evident that upon .This thrust bearing is provided in order to take care of any longitudinal rotation of the shaft 45 due to the reciprocatory motion of the ring rail I3, the lever 55 will be rotated slightly in a clockwise manner which will cause the disk 69 to move away from` disk 15 and at the same time cause the disk 84 to move towards disk 89, resulting in belt 19 traveling upon a greater circumference on the lower disks. Of course, this will mean that the lower shaft 19 will be rotated at an increasing rate of speed since the shaft 85 is the drive shaft and the shaft 1.9 is the driven shaft. g

The shaft 85 has its ends rotatably mounted in thrust bearings 95 and 96 which are secured to the end frame I and an arcuate support 91 respectively, said arcuate support being secured to the end frame I0 by any suitable means such as bolts 98. The shaft 85 also has flxedly Scured i thereon a drive pulley 99 by any suitable means such as a set screw |08. Adjacent the pulley 99 and rotatably mounted on the shaft 85 is aloose pulley IUI. During the normal operationof the machine a suitable source of power is connected to the drive pulley 99 which in turn, will rotate the shaft 95 and the shaft 10 through the belt 19. The rotation of the shaft 1I) will likewise rotate a cylinder |05, which is xedly secured on the'. shaft, A

and this cylinder will rotate the spindle I5 through bands |06. The bands are mounted around the cylinder |85 and whorls 11, these whorls?v being fixedly secured on the spindles I8. i .i

As the bobbins are rotated, the builder motion causes the ring rail I3 to reciprocate over a -porv tion of the bobbin and at the same time-'gradually move the rail towards the top while maintaining the same stroke. 'I'his reciprocation will rotate the shaft 29 in a counter-clockwise inanner in Figure 3, through the ratchet lever 26 and the ratchet 30, and the rotation will cause the shaft 45 to be moved to the left in Figure 1, thereby rotating the lever 55 in a clockwise manner to gradually change the positionof the belt between the disks 89, 15, and the disks 88 and 89, resulting in a gradual increase in the speed of the shaft 10.

When the bobbin is completed and ready to be doffed, the maximum speed has been attained consequently, it will then be necessary to move the variable speed mechanism back to a slow speed position by means of the hand wheel 49. When in this position, the disks 69 and 15 will be close together whereas, the disks 84 and 89 will be spread apart. This movement may beeffected while the spinning frame is still in operation, if the atmospheric conditions in the mill or other` factors demand that the speedbe changed 55 during the winding of the bobbins.

Figures 8 and 9 show a slightly modied form of the invention where the same apparatus is being used upon twister frames instead of spinning frames. Asheretofore stated, the twister frames start off at a maximum speed and gradually decrease to a minimum when the packages of yarn are doed. In order to produce this effect it is only necessary to turn the ratcheting mechanism upside down to a reversed position from that shown in Figures l, 3 and 5. In this position, the ratcheting mechanism comprising lever 26, ratchet 39 and pawl 32 will assume the position shown in Figures 8 and 9, and due to its reversal, the shaft 29 will be rotated in a clock- `wise direction instead of arcounter-clockwise direction as was the case when the same mechanism was used in conjunction withA a spinning frame. Of course, this reverse rotation of the shaft 29 will produce a reverse rotation of the shaft 45 and the lever 55. Therefore, the disks 69 and 15 will be gradually closed while the disks 84 and 89 will be gradually opened resulting in a gradual dimunition of the speed of shaft 10.

In the drawings and specification there has been set forth a preferred embodiment of the invention, and although specific terms are employed, they are used in a generic and descriptive sense only, and not for purposes of limitation, the scope of the invention being set forthin the appended claim.

I claim:

In a spinning frame, twisting frame and the like having a yreciprocating ring rail, a drive shaft, a driven shaft for driving the frame, a conical disk fixed on the drive shaft, a second conical disk flxed on the driven shaft, a sliding conical disk keyed for sliding movement on each of said shafts and each having its conical face disposed reversely to the conical face of the hired conical disks to thereby provide a grooved pulley on each of the shafts, a lever having its ends connected to said sliding disks, a bolt slidably penetrating a. portion ofY the frame, resilient means normally forcing said bolt away from said frame, means pivotally connecting an intermediate point of said lever with said belt, a member penetrating 4one end of said lever and having a worm gear 

